Not sure how relevant this is but thought I’d try. It is a problem only men have but not a political one, only a social one…

I’ve always wanted to join spaces alien to me to see the difference and learn things. I like meeting people from different backgrounds - class, ethnic etc. It’s only as I’ve got older I’ve realised how much of a minority I am in to think this way. Soooo many people (majority I think genuinely) want to stay in their own groups.

I’ve always wanted (still want) to be friends with women and join female spaces just to learn. A whole group brought up, socialised different to me. Does that fascinate people? Apparently not but to me it does. Because then I can learn stuff and be like oh ok I should take this and that away. Or ok that side is terrible let’s not do that.

It’s always fascinated me how segregated men and women are. Even as a kid literally all the boys played football and all the girls did knitting at school. Idk…I would have liked both but obvs I did football because my friends did (+football is bloody amazing and I encourage all boys to play more and not do boxing/rugby/fighting sports...but that’s just me).

I also don’t mind a bit of gossip about people. I like receiving compliments. Men generally do neither. I do envy how much girls compliment one another for eg. But truth is I still don’t know what they talk about and what goes on that makes us so segregated. Not like us men chat about male only stuff so what’s the big difference??

But female spaces seem to be really hostile from my experience. Excluding me from conversation for eg.

Is it that old thing of men are sex crazed oppressive class? So they don’t trust us? A good portion of us do just want to be friends but they can be so hostile I just give up on that now. Idk. Maybe i’m too young and naive.

I feel like with male spaces this is rarer. It’s less hard for women to join the conversation.

Idk…